2nd Bn Munster Fusiliers during WW1

[ork23110]

Not sure of that but he was from Roscommon so perhaps he enlisted there? Any help would be welcomed thanks!

[arnhem44]

There is only one Michael Raftery matching service to the Munsters seeing action in the Balkans.His service number was 361 attached to the 7th Battalion who was then transferred at some stage to the Connaught Rangers with his number changing to 18321.This soldier saw action from the 5th of August 1915 and was transferred to Class Z Reserve on the 29th of January 1919,He was awarded the 1914/15 Star,War and Victory medal trio.No further service  info available on this one I'm afraid.

[Jack TT]

Hi Brenden(arnhem440

Wonder if you could give any advice, I have got the service record for a great great granddad, Joseph Conway. he was in the 86th  foot, service number 1172, enlisted on 3rd July 1869, he was discharged 18/03/1893. From the record he spent quite a few years in India( 2 tours, Sept 1875-May 1884 and Sept 88-Feb 93) as well as capes??(May 1870-March 1875). there are other notes for  "Home" and " HMS ", however on the military history sheet, it just has a tick in the part for medals/decorations. Is ther any way to find out what he was awarded for his 20+years of service. There is also reference to transferring to the SWB
Hope you do not mind the e mail
regards
Jack

[arnhem44]

Hi again Jack,a bit before my normal research but I'll try and break it down a little if I can.Now I may be wrong with some info but I'm sure others will correct me.He enlisted into the 86th (Royal County Down) regiment of foot,these were amalgamated with the 83rd (County of Dublin) regiment of foot in 1881 to form the Royal Irish Rifles who spent along time in India.Now you don't mention what battalion he was with but the 86th formed the 2nd battalion RIR so that's that part. As a guess Capes refers to South Africa so most likely he spent time in both places.Home would of stood for time back in the UK which would of included the Republic of Ireland at that time,HMS may of been a naval base,all naval bases were named like ships which is often confusing to people researching relatives,so it may of been that he was invalided home to a base hospital due to sickness or was simply home for a spell while another battalion were sent out in place of the one Joseph Conway served with.As for medals,it's quite possible he may of got none,no medals would of been issued unless he was actively involved in fighting while he served there,some periods saw no fighting and the soldiers were simply doing garrison duties.As for long service and good conduct medals,again he may not of been issued with any depending on his behaviour but this is just specultive,you could try looking at the Uk medal roll on Ancestry for medals or awards but this would require full memebership to do so which I don't have.The SWB has me stumped to be honest.I'll have a look on Ancestry and see if there is anything else there and will post up anything I find tomorrow.
Regards
Brendan

[ork23110]

There is only one Michael Raftery matching service to the Munsters seeing action in the Balkans.His service number was 361 attached to the 7th Battalion who was then transferred at some stage to the Connaught Rangers with his number changing to 18321.This soldier saw action from the 5th of August 1915 and was transferred to Class Z Reserve on the 29th of January 1919,He was awarded the 1914/15 Star,War and Victory medal trio.No further service  info available on this one I'm afraid.

Hi arnhem44,
am i right in assuming that Michael Raftery was with the 7th Batt. RMF first and not the other way round. and that there are no attestation papers available.
 many thanks
john

[arnhem44]

Hi John,yes that's right.The medal card lists the regiment that the soldier landed overseas with first at the top and any subsequent regiment there after follows.Also a soldier may of been with a previous regiment before going overseas and this will not appear on the MIC only on service and pension records,sadly it appears there is none for Michael Raftery.The medal index card for Michael Raftery serving with the 7th battalion is the nearest match based on the Munster connection.MIC's were not destroyed like the service records so they should be complete.This Michael Raftery most likely went on and served in France after Gallipoli before transferring to the Connaught's.Checking the medal rolls based on the page numbers listed on the MIC would confirm which battalion he served with with the Connaught Rangers enabling a person to find out what battles the soldier fought in,to go further one could look for battalion diaries to really build a bigger picture.
Regards
Brendan

[ork23110]

hi Brendan,
thats very interesting, as I have him married in Cork in 1916 presumably back from Gallipoli,
and i know he was in France at the somme next, any idea where the battallion diaries for the Connaught rangers could be found
thanks
john

[arnhem44]

Hi John,if your confident that this is the man your looking for then I would suggest you check the medal rolls first to find out which battalion he served with,each battalion would of had it's own diary.The National Archives in the UK would be the place to start http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/war-diaries.asp and then you could try the Great War Forum under unit diaries,members there have many of the diaries in question and are willing to do look ups or pass on the info http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=145000&st=0 .Hopefully they may be of some interest to you.

At Jack,hi again.I haven't been able to find anything further due to lack of time,can you tell me where you got that record from?

Regards
Brendan

[Jack TT]

Looks like it came from findmypast.co.uk

his army no was 1605, not 1172
The SWB is over 1172 on front of form, could this be South Wales Borders?